Asylum
by Vacant Lullaby
Summary: With impending pressure and semi-depression along with an eating disorder he refuses to admit he has, Dave Strider has a lot on his plate. His older brother just trying to do what's best takes him to a very well known mental institution. Resentment toward his older brother now Dave must learn how to survie in this place, maybe make a few friends along the way?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
>Dave just stared at the floor, he heard the doctors outside the door talking to his brother. "Mr. Strider we think Dave is experiencing minor depressed implications..." Dave bit his lip as he heard this. Damn it! He thought, it was just a scratch. Sure he was not feeling good, and yes he quit eating. But suicide?! That's just not cool. He would never leave his bro like that. Not after what he's done to raise Dave. The fifteen year old lifted his head to look in the mirror, dark circular sunglasses, crisp platinum blonde hair, pale skin and a crimson red shirt stared back at him. They would never know how he felt, one doesn't simply understand why they hate themselves. Disgusted, he looks back down at his hands. They were so bony... His arm was bandaged from a gash. The doctor suspected with his know-it-all face that Dave had down this on purpose. Fuck him. He was just trying to hang up his katana when it unsheathed and nicked him. The door opened up to reveal the doctor and his bro. "Well, Mr. Strider." The doctor said, his glasses and silver hair reflected in Dave's shades. "Your brother and I have decided to do what's best for your... temperamental state." Smiles, Dave was glaring behind his glasses. "What exactly are you trying to say, doc?" Dirk, his brother sighed. "Dave, I just want what's best for you... I think you should go to a psychiatric hospital." There was a long pause in the room. Dave felt like he had been hit with a sack of bricks while simultaneously getting hit with a full swing by a baseball bat to the groin. "No." Dave answered finally. "Oh, Mr. Strider you do-" "I said I'm not going." Dave interrupted the doctor, now standing. "Dave!" His brother scolded and Dave sat down defeated. "It was just an accident! I'm fine!" He argued but the long sigh from his brother told him that there was no changing his mind. "When do I leave?" He asked, biting his lip to keep from his voice showing any emotion. "Right now, your guardian has decided to ride along with you." The doctor stated like it was perfectly happy news. "When do I get to get out?" "When we think you are emotionally stable to." A long pause fell over the room before Dave was being escorted out into a vehicle. He sat across from his brother, not next to him. He couldn't believe all the hurt and betrayal he was feeling. He loved Dirk as much, maybe even more than his parents when they were alive, and now he was putting him in the loony bin. He wanted to scream at him but the whole ride was tense and quiet, his brother just looking out at the window. Why didn't he say anything? It just pissed Dave off even more.<br>As they neared the mental hospital he could see the name, Evangelica Woods. Dave scoffed. Evangelical meant 'good news' and a good news asylum was the most ironic thing he'd ever heard of. He'd be laughing if it weren't the fact he was pissed off and was going to live here for god knows how long. When the car jolted to a stop, his doctor opened the door for them and Dave reluctantly got out, this was no place for a fifteen year old. "Trust me, Mr. Strider, your little brother will be quite accommodated with the young adult section of the hospital." He smiled as they entered the large stone building. It was like a giant church, some nurses in crisp white uniforms walked around in the lobby. As old and ancient the building looked on the outside, the inside was modernized. Wooden floors, a receptionist desk, large ceiling and lights everywhere. It would be beautiful if it were a hotel. "Now, let's get you signed in." As soon as they established Dave was now a patient, they brought him to the stairs. "There are elevators but we reserve those for patients who truly need them so please try not to use them so often." The walked up the long and wide wooden stairs, after walking down several halls and about three flights of stairs they made it to the last floor, his room was the very last down on the left. Number 446 and perfectly secluded. He walked in quietly, the room had light blue bed sheets, a dresser, a lamp a small closet and a bathroom. "I thought we used public ones?" Dave said unamused referring to the bathroom. "Times have changed and this is a better mental institution than most." The doctor said with that stupid smile of his. Oh how Dave would like to punch that smile right off of him but his thoughts were interrupted when Dirk's voice entered them. "I'll bring you clothes and visit as often as possible." He promised and gave Dave a one armed hug. "Yeah, kay."Dave simply stated and watched as the doctor and his brother disappeared into the halls, Dave closed the door and sat down on the bed, head in his hands. Fuck everything... He shouldn't be here. This was some stupid misunderstanding. His stomach growled and he flopped on his side ignoring it. He didn't need to eat anyway. Fuck, cut those thoughts out! If he wouldn't have those thoughts than he wouldn't be here in the first place! He stared at the wall trying to drain anything from the piercing pain in his empty gut and evil thoughts that possessed his mind. Eyes squeezed tight behind his sunglasses and letting out an uneven breath. How could he go from surviving to mental patient within a mere twenty-four hour period? Sometimes even his own idiotic actions amazed him. His stomach growled loudly and he willed it to stop, trying to drown out his thoughts again, he got up from the bed, fixed his hair and left his room to adventure out in the young adult lounge room.


	2. Chapter 2

The lounge room was on the floor through some twists and turns and smack dab in the center with double groups of messed up teenagers. Tables randomly placed, some occupied with people playing card or board games, harmless enough. Some looked like they truly deserved to be in there, others looked just like him. Dave didn't like this one bit but at least it got his mind off of his hunger. One girl in a pink sweater was looking out the winodw in a stray chair. She looked about his age and really bored out of her mind. "Um, hi." Dave said as he approached her and took a seat in front of her. She either wasn't listening or she was ignoring him. So sighing he just looked out the window as well, until her gasping made it evident his presence was officially known. Dave looked to the at the blonde, her eyes a creamy pinkish color almost, light shocks of blue as well. She was listening to music, he heard the rock blare out of her earbud after she took it off. "Sorry, didn't see ya there!" She stated and looked over him. "You must be new, or really reclusive like a ninja cause I haven't seen you around here." He smirked and laid back in the chair, keeping any real emotion to himself. "Yeah, I'm new." He stated and left it off at that. "You gonna tell me your name?" She asked, looking him over."Nah, you don't need that. But I'd enjoy knowing yours~" The girl rolled her eyes. "So smooth." She said sarcastically and was about to slip her earbud back in when he stopped her. "Okay, okay. How about a fair trade? You give me your name and I'll give you mine." She seemed to think about it a little and finally agreed. "Roxy Lalonde." He liked it, kinda sounded French. "Dave Strider." He looked the girl over again, she was rather beautiful with her short, curly blonde hair, pinkish eyes, tanned skin and great curves filling out her body. "You look a little young." Simply stated, had she been looking at him too? "I'm fifteen." She whistled. "Damn, you don't look like it with how thin you are." He was about to ask how old she was when a small bell rung and some nurses came in. "Lunch time." She said to him and proceded to stand. Reluctantly, Dave did as well.  
>Lunch went okay. He managed to hold down his food and he got to sit with Roxy, though they didn't talk much. She didn't seem to know anybody else in there, but she did talk to some guys and a friendly girl. Dave was too out of it to catch anybody else's name and frankly didn't want to talk to anyone. After lunch, they took their medicine. Dave managed to slip into a communial bathroom first, vomiting up whatever was undigested and coming back for his meds. After that he wasn't in the mood to be around people and so he wandered back into his room, closing the door.<br>It was midnight, Dave just stared at the ceiling in his boxers and tried to will hisself to sleep. His stomach ached and he lied in the fetal position before he heard a noise outside his door and he slowly went to check it out, throwing on his he opened the door he heard the faint footsteps again and saw a dark haired girl stealithly walking. He followed her carefully, trying not to make his presence known, though he almost got caught twice. The girl went up the stars to the roof, curious he continued tofollow her. She simly lied down and it took him a moment to realize she was simply looking at the stars. When was the last time he did that? His head tilted up to look at the sky hisself. Beautiful strings of the bright lights shone. Since the only light on was the lobby lights, everything was clear. It was almost as if you could see galaxies. He was overwhelmed and grateful he followed the girl. This was short lived as he felt invasive and slowly recoiled iback inside before the girl could notice his existence. Yet as soon as he went back into his room, he found hisself able to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 Be That Girl

Sorry I was gone for so long, I had several medical problems and pure procrastination to help with that. I'm back now and I appreciate anyone telling me any spelling mistakes at all. I should be able to write for an interrupted amount of time now until I have to go back to my doctors, etc. :)

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><p>The bouncy brunette just didn't feel like herself anymore. Her fun filled smile just felt more fake and that sparkle in her green eyes fell farther and farther away. But we are not focusing on this particular girl yet, no, we are focusing on the sassy blonde with mishievous eyes. Roxy gallavanted around the large building boredly, unsatisified with the card game she had earlier played with one of her 'inmates' as she puts it. Sometimes she wonders exactly how long she will stay in this sober hell, it felt like so long since she had last seen her little sister, but it's not like her little sister would want to see her anyway. Roxy sighed as she went back into the recreational room and plopped herself down on the couch. A few of the lunatics looked at her, the ones with serious issues. She just ignored them to the best of her ability as her sights turned to Dave, a smirk crept up on her glossy lips. The kids' guardian apparently returned to give Dave some clothes, because the newbie had on some new jeans and a plain red shirt, he looked bored as ever. Roxy moved from her comfy spot to walk over to Dave. "Hey there~ How was your first night?" She simply asked. "Fine." He replied stoically and unamused to which gave Roxy some nerves. "Wanna go on a walk?" She mused and he shrugged. "Are we even allowed outside?" He asked. "Yeah, we don't hear voices so we good." She laughed and he cracked a smile as he got up, allowing her to lead him.<p>

The two got permission to stroll around the backyard gardens, he looked around and saw another girl sitting with a drawing pad in her hands. Lightly tanned skin, deep brown hair and he couldn't manage to see her eyes but Roxy avoided looking at the girl. "So you in for depression?" She suddenly asked and she watched as his attention was forced back on her. "Oh... um.. That's what they said. I shouldn't really be here actually, I'm not really messed up. Why are you here?" Her eyes gleamed with something, a colorful emotion, a spark really. "I'm in here because of a drinking problem." She stated as if there was nothing wrong with the idea. "You? Aren't you a little young? Oh! That reminds me, how old are you?" She laughed at his sudden reaction. "Seventeen, eighteen soon." The two walked down along this short dirt path with flowers on either side. "Damn. That's insane to have a drinking problem that young." "It's insane to be depressed at fifteen." jShe shot back and he rolled his eyes from underneath his shades. He was half a head taller than her and she seemed more friendly than reclusive or batshit crazy than any of the other patients. "How long have you been here?" She kept looking foreword, man he asked some personal questions to strangers. "I don't remember." He seemed to take that as an answer becaus ethe next few minutes were feeled with quiet. "So any siblings?" She asked. "Yeah, an older brother. I don't want to talk about him at the moment." He said with some bite to the made a mental note of this. "I've got a younger sister, she hates my guts though. So talk to me. You like music?" He seemed to perk up at that. "Hell yeah, all types. Especially rap. I've got turntables at home that my parents bought me when I was ten. They're the shit! I've made so many sick beats with them." Roxy smiled as she listened to this. "I like music too, mostly rock but some alternative and pop are nice too. You wanna make music?" "I have always wanted to make music, still do. "

Roxy learned just how much music meant to Dave, for the next two and a half hours he talked about different genres, artists, bands, everything about music. She wasn't complaining though, she liked listening to him get all happy about things. They eventually came back inside because of the heat and the two played cards; hell, they spent the whole day together, just talking and playing cards. They ate lunch together and that's when Roxy noticed a change. "You gonna eat, boy?" She said as Dave picked at his food. "I'm not all that hungry." He said and she unsurely sipped her milk. "You've got to eat, just a few bites of your cookie at least." She barely realized how bony his hands were as he reluctantly did as told. He seemed distracted and she frowned a little before eating the rest of her food. Dave disappeared to the bathroom and came back shortly, taking his medicne right behind her. Afterwards she smiled and yawned. "I'm going to take a nap." He smiled and told her to have pleasant and far away dreams. As she disappeared down the hall, her pleasant demeaner melted and she had a new determination to find out exactly what was wrong with Dave, she knew everything about everyone in here and secrets set off an ugly spark in her. A fatal flaw really, but maybe that's why she's in here. They told her the first day here that they were going to 'fix her'. She, herself is curious as to how they plan on fixing a short-tempered, manipulative control freak.


	4. Chapter 4

Dave spent the rest of his day wandering around before bedtime. Clawing at his empty stomach as pain erupted from him. It was only 9:30 according to the faint glow on his iPod and there was no chance he was going to sleep until maybe midnight when his body actually gave out from drowsiness. Shivering from the uncalled for goosebumps he jumped as he felt a hand touch his back. The hand drew back just as soon as it had touched him "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" a perky and shy voice interrupted his soon-to-be heart attack and he was soon brought back to his stoic composure. "What did you mean to do then?" He asked and turned toward the voice, as he did so his eyes fell upon the outlines of the brunette Roxy so profoundly hates. He felt the need to have a hostility toward her too; maybe she belongs there and that's why Roxy hates her so, or maybe it's the fact she gives off a weird and unnerving aura, whatever the reason he was not going to loosen up his icy comp sure. The girl meagerly let his eyes explore over her and she replied "I just noticed that you had followed me the other night, and I wanted you to know that you can come up the stairs with me."That was you?" He said a bit bitterly at this realization. "Well, yes... Do I know you?" she asked and to her reply came a "No." and then an awkward silence flooded the room, then tension was too much and so the girl had filled in the silence. "I'm Jade, Jade Harley..." "Okay." Was his rather deafening answer, the girl, this Jade Harley, seemed to grasp the tension and hostility he so clearly viewed and announced toward her and had bid him a goodnight as she went through her labyrinth of stairs and up to her starry sanctuary. This left Dave alone with his thoughts again and he ventured back into his bedroom to coil up in a painful spasm until sleep induced him.

{Earlier that day Roxy P.O.V.} Roxy was gracious she had gotten the receptionists lunch schedules down that way she was exactly thirty seconds ahead of time and easily had forty-five minutes to snoop around. She watched as the two uniformed women walked ahead and curved out to the main doors, opening them with their passes and leaving, Roxy crept into the admissions office and into the back filing room to begin her search. Delving deep into her research as she opened up Mr. Strider's file. "Uh-huh..." She mumbled to herself and didn't have time to react when she heard a crisp voice break her thoughts. "I knew you'd be in here." Jade said as she entered in the door frame and into Roxy's vision. Her eyes instinctively narrowed as her gaze cast upon the tanned brunette. "What do you want?" She smirked. "I want you to stop poking your nose into other people's lives." Jade hissed through bared teeth, clearly this hadn't been the first time Roxy has done this. "Oh~ But aren't you the least bit curious~ I mean, he's rather interesting if you ask me~ Though your file was an avid read and favorite of mine~." Jade winced as if she had pricked herself with a needle. "Oh what's wrong? Hear more voices~" Roxy smirked as she took notice in the pain she had caused the girl. "Just don't torment the kid. The doctor's are looking for you, your session is today." And like that Jade turned and left from the room leaving Roxy confident and continuing her read.

{1:00 A.M. Jade P.O.V.} Jade stared out at the vast stars, mapping out her favorite constellations in her head and creating new ones of her own. Dreaming of creating certain galaxies and dwelling amid the stars. The thought seemed to progress as she tried to keep her breathing calm. What had made the boy so upset? She had never tried to do anything wrong to him? Maybe she had made the encounter up in her head? Maybe he really didn't say anything? Maybe it was just a dream? Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, a constant flow of maybe's played in her head, causing her to over think and become riddled with anxiety as thoughts and sudden images flashed through her head, causing her to sit up and hold her head in her hands. She went through things like this every night, only finding short tranquility from her tumultuous thoughts in the stars. When she was awake she was surrounded with images and voices and when she was asleep night terrors invoked her. She used to believe she was clairvoyant; that it was a power, only to find these voices cold and harsh, these images bleak and distraught. She shook from the sudden burst and made herself go inside, not wanting to sleep yet suddenly overwhelmed with drowsiness she collapsed in the recreational room couch. She new she was sure to get locked up in her room for being found outside it after curfew, or they will most likely believe her sleepwalking may have come back; she was hoping it was the latter.

{Dave P.O.V.} The morning brought about an unnecessary amount of sunlight and a wake up call, what he wouldn't give for five more minutes of peace but the nurses insisted he get up for he had an important session in an hour. Grabbing his iPod he looked at the time, 9:04. He made himself get out of the bed and lugged himself into the shower. The warmth of the water only made him want to succumb to sleep so his switched the water to cold and forced himself to wake. After ten minutes of cal, wet water he dressed himself in a plain blue shirt and jeans, fixing his hair only slightly after his usual morning routine and journeying downstairs to find Roxy who was eating breakfast and saving a spot for him. "Hey Pop Rox~" Roxy smirked at this and had shown she was kind enough to get him a stack of pancakes as she munched on hers. That girl from last night was sitting by the window and withdrawn from any conversation, she has bags under her eyes. "Hey? You there?" Dave was brought from his thoughts. "Hmmm? Oh yeah I'm here, just tired s'all." Roxy rolled her eyes. "Eat up." She said warmly and reluctantly Dave grabbed the fork. "Come on Dave, you're never gonna get better if you don't try." Roxy said and this shocked Dave. "How'd you know about that?"


End file.
